FITSNews Candidate Survey: Kyle Herbert

SOUTH CAROLINA POLITICAL CANDIDATES: IN THEIR OWN WORDS

What’s your name?   Kyle Herbert

Where are you from?  Lexington, South Carolina

What office are you running for?  Comptroller General

What political party do you belong to?  Democrat

What’s your occupation?  CPA

Are you a government employee?  No

Why are you running for office?

I am running for Comptroller General because our state needs accountable, honest, and ethical leadership. The Comptroller General is a guardian of the fiscal health of our state and our families.

Our current Comptroller General does not have the ability to perform his duties in an effective and efficient manner.  By missing financial reporting deadlines he has placed South Carolina’s credit rating at a significant risk.  These failings could raise the cost of living for working families, increase budget short falls and make it harder for small businesses to create jobs.

It is the duty of every accountant to operate in an independent and objective manner. Elected officials should act in a manner that is both ethical and professional.  The Comptroller General of South Carolina must be a leader that exhibits the greatest integrity while in office.

What do you see as the most important issues facing your state? 

I strongly believe that the rejection of Medicaid expansion is significantly hurting the residents of this state.  My entire career has been within healthcare accounting and many of our rural and urban hospitals do not have the ability to provide care to low-income patients.  By rejecting federal dollars, which South Carolinians have already paid for, we are not being good stewards of tax dollars and we are neglecting the very people that our government is supposed to protect.

What would you do if elected to address those issues?

I would work with all state agencies to find a better way to administer health care to everyone within our state.  It is ludicrous that we are rejecting federal dollars when a portion of this money is already being deducted from our paychecks. All South Carolinians are being taxed for Medicaid expansion yet we are not receiving the benefits.

Why should people vote for you? 

The Comptroller General shouldn’t be about party or politics; it should be about serving the people of South Carolina, honestly and effectively. Regardless of being a Democrat or Republican, this position requires someone who is highly skilled in the accounting field.

South Carolina needs honest leadership and real accountability in the Comptroller General’s office. As Comptroller General, I will work to protect our state’s critical financial resources and ensure our state government does not endanger the financial well-being of our working families.

I am a CPA who has over fifteen years in the accounting field. I am also an Adjunct Professor of Accounting at USC and a Fulbright Scholar.  I have written an accounting textbook “Hospital Reimbursement: Concepts and Principles” and I am dedicated to helping the lives of all South Carolinians.

Why should people not vote for your opponent, Richard Eckstrom? 

Our current Comptroller General has put South Carolina’s credit rating and middle-class families at risk numerous times. As a career politician who’s been elected for more than 16 years, he has lost sight of the important priorities of the office.

On two separate occasions he has filed the State’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report late. This has jeopardized the credit rating of the state of South Carolina, which would increase the cost of living for every South Carolinian. In the private sector any CFO failing this dramatically at such a basic duty would be fired immediately.

Mr. Eckstrom has numerous ethical violations that range from misuse of campaign funds to using state-owned assets for personal use. We need real accountability and honest leadership in Columbia, especially when it comes to managing our tax dollars.

How can voters connect with you? 

Anyone can visit my website www.kyleherbert.com and contact me at kyle.herbert@cpa.com.